


The Care and Keeping of your Time Lord

by The_narwhals_awaken



Series: A Gallifreyan How-To [1]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Gallifrey, Gallifreyan Culture (Doctor Who), Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:34:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 2,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26254231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_narwhals_awaken/pseuds/The_narwhals_awaken
Summary: A new companion's guide to living with a Time Lord
Relationships: Time Lord & Companion
Series: A Gallifreyan How-To [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1908952
Comments: 20
Kudos: 16





	1. Introduction and Table of Contents

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is my first fic, so I hope you like it. It's a combination of actual lore, some halfhearted research, and my own headcanons. 
> 
> I don't own anything, but if I did, so much would be different and canon would probably be even more of a mess.

Hello! If you’re getting this pamphlet, you have most likely come into a new friendship with a Time Lord. While there have been many rumors and legends about this mighty and ancient species, this guide is based on proven facts. We’ll talk about needs, wants, and what to do in many unfortunately common circumstances, such as death, injury, or a major fight. We’ll also talk about what to expect in general from your Time Lord, and an explanation of the basics in politics and background so you understand their point of view. Good luck and safe travels to you, and may you keep your friendship alive and healthy for as long as you last!

Sections in this pamphlet include:

Basic Culture and History

Food, Water, and Other Necessities

Biology: Similarities, Differences, and How to Help

Regeneration: New Friend or Hostile Explosion?

Emotional Pain and How to Deal

Government and How it Spies on You (And Might Just Eliminate You From Existence)

The Inevitable Parting

Summary and Conclusion 


	2. Basic Culture and History

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! I just noticed I'd made a mistake with the chapters when doing research for a later fic in the series, so I fixed it. Sorry again!

Time Lord culture is very scientific, and the most famous are often scientists- as well as politicians, but that’s just expected. 

They’re divided into six Chapters by ‘birth’, which are as follows: Pyrdon, which dresses in red and yellow, the politicians and the most likely that you’re going to run into unless they’re CIA agents (more on them later); Arcalia, in green and brown, the sciency ones; Patrex, in heliotrope and yellow, the artsy and slightly precognitive ones; Cerulean, the green thumbed and baby TARDIS loving ones, Scendeles, the emotionally constipated math nerds, and Dromelian, the spiritual broke ones. 

Important figures include Rassilon (You will hear his name. Whether as a swear or because he named way too much stuff after himself is a toss-up, possibly both. Probably both) founder of Time Lord society, inventor of time travel, and one of the biggest jerks you’ll ever have the misfortune to meet- so just like 90% of all other Time Lord Presidents- and former solar engineer; Omega- big nerd who got himself killed/trapped in an alternate dimension by Rassilon, inventor of the Eye of Harmony; the Other, mysterious figure who not much is know of but is still there, possibly created the Matrix (Time Lord repository of knowledge and prophecies of doom) and whoever the current Lord/Lady President is. Sometimes it stays the same for centuries, sometimes there’s five in a week. Stuff happens.

There were a lot of wars. People abused time travel. There was a mess with the Vampires and now every Time Lord will kill them if they can get their hands on them.

Emotions are scary to Time Lords. Be patient with yours, they aren’t used to reading faces or conversational cues and will find themselves reaching for your telepathic imprint instead. Get used to non sequiturs or misunderstanding expressions because of missing out on the background.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this might be somewhat disjointed... I'm considering making this a series with a lot of guidebooks so I can go into detail on some of the things I'm limited on the current pamphlet form. Any thoughts? Items in the series would be like, "Gallifreyan Culture and History", "An Idiot's Guide to Gallifreyan Politics", "Regeneration for a Newbie", things like that.


	3. Food, Water, and Other Necessities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, heck my updating schedule- it's whenever I feel like it now, and I don't think anyone's complaining, are you?

Your Time Lord may not eat as much or as often as you are used to. They may also prefer odd flavor combinations or very bland foods. The latter is simply a matter of personal taste. Don’t eat it if you don’t like it, and if you have a good relationship with them, feel free to tease. The former is possibly because they are working up from a diet of nutrient bars, wafers, and paste. Have patience. 

Water requirements are a little less than humans, but they’re fairly good about avoiding dehydration- since Gallifrey is a desert planet, it’s a basic life skill, implemented when young. 

Your Time Lord may have allergies. Please respect them. Avoid cooking with ginger, as that makes them drunk. Cannabis does not flush out of the system, so no weed brownies, and please avoid aspirin, as it is toxic to them, but if it is ingested, you can treat it with chocolate. 

To flush poisons, use protein, something with ginger (pure ginger disables toxin filtration), and something salty, but not pure salt. Where possible, check with your Time Lord before dosing them.

Your Time Lord does, in fact, need to eat every day. They may not always recognize their hunger, but you will. If they get cranky, something light and sweet will usually tide them over until you can get a proper meal in them. If you can get it to them while they are distracted or thinking, you probably won’t get noticed until it’s become a habit.


	4. Biology:  Similarities, Differences, and How to Help

A Time Lord has a lot of the same systems, in about the same places, as humans. Most basic medicine, provided they don’t look too close, will still work. 

The issue is when it’s not the same. There are generally doubles of most single organs, as well as quadruples of most double organs, and thus the internal structure is shifted and shrunken to accommodate this. Your Time Lord will also be heavier than you think they are, as body fat tends to be a secondary resource and their muscle is much denser.

The upside to the binary systems is that it is very hard to kill a Time Lord. The downside is that some of those ways can be given through sheer accident, as uninformed medical professionals work with what they know. For instance: most human anaesthetics will, if administered in surgical doses, be enough to regenerate a Time Lord. We’ve already covered aspirin, ginger, and other allergies above, but those are less likely, with aspirin as most likely and easiest to avoid. 

Be patient! They know their body better than you, so the best thing you can do is to let them do their work. Some weak points include the nerve cluster in the left shoulder- equivalent to the funny bone on humans, except more. 

Healing comas may occur if an injury is very great. Keep them safe, as with all nonessential body functions slowed, they will not need food or water until after they wake up- unless it has gone on for over three days. After that, hook up the saline and nutrient IVs, and make sure you find a vein. While technically they’d be fine up to five days, it’s better safe than sorry, and the extra two days allows for the saline and nutrients to flow instead of being bunched up. Ask a medical professional about the proper dosage, as each heart will be beating approximately once per minute. 

The Time Lord tends to heal faster than most other species without a specific healing factor, but this ability can be enhanced by focus. Get them sugar and let them be. 


	5. Regeneration: New Friend or Hostile Explosion

Regeneration is when, on the occurrence of injury or harm that would lead to death, or at a point of the Time Lord’s choosing, they burn the old body in flames of Artron energy and use it to make a new one. It’s flashy, loud, and an obnoxious process, bringing out new facets of the personality and highlighting new features and flaws. 

At first, you’ll need to focus on medical needs. Keep them someplace safe. The Zero Room will be best, but anywhere they can rest is also nice. Bring them a cup of tea, and figure out how they take it. You may need a few cups to figure it out, but the important thing is that they drink some tea- it’ll make the whole process more stable than it otherwise would be. 

For about fifteen hours, they will have an overabundance of energy from the regeneration, in case something goes wrong. There may be scatterbrain incidents, just try to keep them contained and safe. Fun activities may include trying half the food in the kitchen to see what they do and do not like, or making seventeen cups of tea to determine tastes there. But whatever is going on, try to be neutral or positive. 

If your Time Lord is not in uniform, they will need to choose new clothes. Try being supportive and help choose something that is somewhat socially acceptable- ie, no Viking costumes, fully dressed, and extra layers are a plus. 

With this, you may find that your relationship is changing. If you can remind them that you feel like you have to get to know a stranger who is also a friend that already knows you, it will go a lot smoother. Keep in mind that they might not know everything either, and soon enough you’ll have a new face of your old friend. For bonus points, take photos to share at family gatherings! It’ll be fun!


	6. Emotional Pain and How to Deal

Your Time Lord will emotionally hurt you at least once, and will be hurt in return. When they hurt you, take some time off to cool down- whether it’s a break from travelling or going and hiding in your room for a while- and then talk it out like the adults you are. 

When you hurt them, make sure you apologize. Trust, once broken, is hard to gain back. First, follow the above steps. It still hurt, and you said it for a reason- so wait and resolve the argument. Second, apologize for the hurt and try to make it better- whether listening to see why it was so bad, or making food, or pausing in the teasing for a bit until they’re more emotionally stable and secure in your relationship- just so long as it’s genuine and you try not to do it again. 

The biggest issue is they might not have the emotional coping skills besides ‘repression’ and ‘work it out in your passion project’. Every Time Lord has something they’re passionate about, so if nothing else, get them to talk about that. 

Talking things out may seem juvenile, but it’s the best solution. Make sure the conversations happen, or wounds may fester untreated, but if neither of you are up for the full talk, that’s OK too. 


	7. Government and How it Spies on You (and might just eliminate you from existence)

Your main interactions with the Time Lord government, unless you’re involved with someone in it, will be with the CIA, or Celestial Intervention Agency. They are tasked with interfering with those who would interfere and break the Web of Time. Generally, they do their best to be unobtrusive, but you can generally tell them out due to either the black-and-white uniforms, the sense of superiority, or the general confusion when presented with any emotional response other than fear or acceptance, and sometimes even then. 

Their goal is to keep the Web of Time functional and not broken, and will do it by any means necessary. Lady President Romana has been working to give them more oversight and fewer illegal and unethical powers, but it’s a long game and she has bigger issues to deal with, including the usual tangled mess that is Gallifreyan politics. Therefore, the CIA has a lot of its powers anyways. Rarely do they negotiate, as they prefer to merely remove the problem or stop the paradox from forming. If it is extremely complex, then they’re going to send in somebody who’s actually experienced at this kind of thing, most likely the renegade known as the Doctor or someone of their ilk. 

If it gets bad enough, they might simply remove the offender from the timeline, preventing their birth entirely and preventing the problem. Generally, they tend to be some of the only Time Lords who know how to fight properly, but they’re just as stuck up as the others. However, due to their long history of secrecy, in part due to their regular- and in fact, part of their mandate- violations of the non-interference policy, they serve as the spies of the High Council and the Matrix Lords, but they don’t know whose side they’re on, or if they’re collectively on a side. 


	8. The Inevitable Parting

Eventually, you two will part. This is simply fact, explained by your differing lifespans. Hopefully, you will not die, but leave happy and secure. 

If the parting is happy, they may even meet back up in the future, although they will never stay. Don’t go looking for them, but keep an ear out. You’ll never be the same, and it’s probably better that you aren’t. There are many organizations that will accept those who have experience time-traveling as higher ranks, or as greater experience. If it’s friendly, you’ll probably even have some resources to start yourself off. Make sure you have a cause you can put energy into, as the lifestyle sticks. 

It’s going to be a big transition, but you’re not alone. There are many others who’ve traveled, and you can join support groups- video or phone calls, meetings, and new friends who understand your stories and struggles. It’s going to be hard, especially at first, but in the end, you’ll be fine. 

If you’re still anxious, or if you parted on good terms, make sure you tell them to not be a stranger and call at major events- weddings, parties, new children, alien invasions too big for the friend group, etc.

If the parting is not happy, then it's most likely not your problem anymore. If you can, at least make sure that any arguments are settled, apologies have been made, and that you do not leave behind any regrets. If you have lots of time, contact some friends- your Time Lord will need the support.


	9. Summary and Closing

So now you’ve learned enough to keep up with your Time Lord and how to help them take care of themselves, what you may run into, context for the rambles and profanity, and what to do when your time together comes to an end. 

Hopefully this will help you keep from getting yourself killed, and keep your Time Lord happy and healthy for your time together. The final, and most important rule, that if you forget all the rest of this pamphlet, you should remember: Have trust in them, but don’t forget to do it yourself if you need to. Your Time Lord is not infallible, and if they’re out there, then they’re aware of it. Partnership will always be better than an argument, and will bring good memories. 

Good luck and happy travels!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me on this journey! It's been nice posting, and hopefully you'll stay on as I continue my journey to dig some sense into the mysterious, confusing world of Gallifrey and the Time Lords. See you in the next works!


End file.
